Burn out appears to be a major focus of the healthcare industry especially with regard to physicians.
Is this a real new problem in healthcare delivery or merely a manifestation of an ongoing broader issue within our society? While traditionally physicians have had very high job satisfaction, they have now become like the remainder of the population with approximately 50% of workers being discontent and burned out in their positions
Certainly there are a myriad of factors contributing to burn out in healthcare delivery.
1 The electronic medical record
2 Much higher rate of employed physicians
3 High pressure to place revenue generation over good patient care
4 Corporatization of the delivery of healthcare
5 Technology mandates and reporting requirements that mire the caregivers in bureaucracy
Two major themes have emerged in the discussions of burn out
A Resiliency
B Systems remedies
Invoking resiliency as a solution, is a means to place blame on the victim and should be rejected de novo. The concept that individuals need to take personal responsibility for system-wide failures in the day-to-day operations of healthcare delivery is absurd
While many individuals in all forms of employment may have inordinate stress in their personal lives as well as their professional lives it is incumbent upon the employer in workplace environment to provide a healthy nurturing understanding culture of safety as well as just culture. The ongoing pattern of allowing hostile work environment’s, bullying, discrimination, sexism have dramatically exacerbated the underlying problem of burn out in many industries.
Systems solutions are long overdue and employers should be held accountable for the work environment which are a primary source of frustration tension depression and potentially compromising good quality care. Myriad avenues exist for all of us to address system based deficiencies including reaching out to colleagues, human resources and leadership/management to address poor work environment
Beyond that individuals have the ability to work with colleagues to bring joy and fulfillment to their professional and personal lives by focusing on those things that they find meaningful
Mindfulness, meditation and living in the moment are also great techniques for stress reduction.
Burn out is neither new nor novel but has now become equally difficult within the healthcare environment
Greater social problems with stress related to finances, technology mandates, the isolation of interpersonal interaction and even bigger issues such as income disparity and the polarization of our society with high levels of acrimony both in a political and social sense being manifest constantly.
Here is an opportunity to reach out to workplaces, colleagues and neighbors to change this toxic environment
The time is here to make a difference.
Copyright nicolas argy 2019